IDCOL requests Tk10b support for installation of 300 MW green power

Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) has now turned its focus on promoting rooftop solar systems for both industries and public infrastructures.In this regard, IDCOL is seeking around Tk 10 billion in credit from the central bank to finance the installation...

Govt cracks down on unauthorised interior works in Secretariat

The government has issued strict directives to curb interior decoration and unauthorised repair works inside the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka, aiming to strengthen fire safety and prevent future accidents, sources said.The move follows an investigation that found unregulated "beautification" and...

Physical work unlikely to start despite feasibility study, DPP

Physical work of electric traction on the rail-track from Narayanganj to Joydebpur is unlikely to start soon despite completion of its feasibility study and preparation of development project proposal (DPP), estimating the cost at Tk 39.33 billion.Sources said approval of...

BD begins gap analysis to fit in RCEP trade standards

Bangladesh begins a critical gap analysis of its economic strengths for aligning its trade policies with protocols of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) for joining the world's largest trade bloc.The comprehensive analysis aims to assess where Bangladesh currently stands...

ICB's turnaround gets tougher as govt refuses fresh loan-repayment funds

The finance ministry has decided that it will not provide any more funds to the state-run Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) for loan repayment purposes.The decision has been reached following the ICB's disclosure of a record annual loss of over...

Hunger and food insecurity stare in the face of world

Reports on hunger and food insecurity are unnerving. The 2025 state of food security and nutrition in the world (SOFI) report finds that 673 million people constituting 8.3 per cent of the global population faced acute hunger in 2024. The...

Bus owners mull co-based services amid decision to halt BRT project

Taking advantage of the government's decision to discontinue the BRT project on Gazipur-Airport route, bus owners want to operate company-managed bus services using the dedicated bus corridor.The National Bus Owners Association of Bangladesh (NBOAB) in a letter to the Chairman...

What's holding back growth of cashless transactions?

Digital financial transactions have increased by leaps and bounds over the past decade in Bangladesh, primarily driven by the impressive growth in the number of Mobile Financial Service (MFS) users. Estimates suggest that there are now more than 90 million...

Uniform pricing model for edible oil in the offing

The government has initiated a comprehensive move to develop a uniform, transparent and data-driven pricing structure, especially for soybean and palm oils, aiming to strengthen regulatory compliances and ensure fair prices.To this effect, the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has already...

BD to seek 0-15pc duty on 6000 items

Bangladesh seeks to avail zero-to 15-percent tariffs on nearly 6000 export goods to the US market under a latest tradeoff with prime goal of exporting garments at lower costs.A draft agreement on Economic partnership has already been sent with the...

Revised margin rules curb speculative stock rallies

The revised margin rules have diminished the dominance of speculative stocks in the secondary market as they lost the status as marginable securities. The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Margin) Rules 2025 came into effect on November 6. Before that,...

Basic sanitation is a daily battle for women in Dhaka

Shreya stands outside a small, dimly lit toilet block on a university campus in Dhaka, waiting. The door does not lock properly. The floor is still wet from the last user. She has already limited her water intake for the...

Grabbing public land with impunity

One may recall the fury of the forest grabbers when they attacked government officials including members of the joint-forces in November last year as the latter carried out an eviction drive at Rajbari in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur to recover...

Ousted PM Hasina sentenced to death

Bangladesh's ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina was Monday sentenced to death for the "crimes against humanity" committed during the July-August mass uprising last year that toppled her government.In its verdict telecast live, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) in Dhaka also...

Urgent RDPP approval sought, as project tenure ends in Dec

The revision of the first metro rail project's Development Project Proposal (DPP) has become urgent, with officials rushing to secure approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) before the interim government's tenure ends.Officials said a significant...

As Mamdani rises, Bangladeshi diaspora shines in America

When Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democratic Socialist steps before a crowd in Queens-microphone in hand, voice steady-the moment feels bigger than a rally. Behind him stand tenants, students, taxi drivers, and small business owners, many sharing immigrant roots like...

Axle load limit setup for roads drags on

There is scope for setting axle-load limits for roads and highways during the interim government's term, but no concrete steps have been taken yet, sources say.If the limits are set, billions of taka spent on checking overload damage can be...

New shipping hub to spur BD export growth

A new shipping hub in sight at the Laldia Container Terminal (LCT) will help debottleneck Bangladesh's export growth and lower import costs, resulting in a trade boost, says the global chief executive of the foreign lessee."It's going to create a...

MV Banglar Pragati begins maiden voyage, set to reach Ctg on Nov 20

CHATTOGRAM, Nov 16: MV Banglar Pragati, the newly-purchased vessel of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC), has embarked on its maiden voyage, which will anchor at the outer anchorage of Chittagong Port on November 20.The ship, built at Nanyang Shipyard in China,...

Here's why T-bond yields are rising again

Yields on government securities (G-Secs) have again crossed 10 per cent as the government's appetite for fresh funds has increased ahead of the national polls scheduled for February this year.The rise and fall of yields depend on the government's fund...

VEON aims to increase financial inclusion through tech-powered digital banking

Telecom multinational Banglalink rolls out its ambitious move into digital banking with an elaborately defined broad strategy to address Bangladesh's financial inclusion and digital divide. Banglalink, a subsidiary of VEON, CEO Johan Buse stresses that device access and basic connectivity...

Referendum without shaping outlines

Holding a national election is a very important event for any country only more so when it is in a momentous transition. Bangladesh, following the July-August uprising, was on the cusp of such a new order. Whether the historical change...

Traders' call for redress goes in vain

The Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) in early March this year, revealed that private buses and minibuses pay over Tk10.59 billion annually as extortion money to political affiliates, the police, the Bangladesh Road Transport Association (BRTA), city corporations and municipal officials...

Market cap shrinks against GDP amid lack of revival reforms

The market cap of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) is now at its lowest since FY21 amid persistent erosion of equity values and a drought of initial public offerings (IPOs).That means the new Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), after...

Time to regulate online content creators

Social media offers a unique platform for independent content creators to express themselves freely, experiment with new ideas, and both enlighten and entertain their audiences. This unprecedented freedom of creating and publishing online content has unleashed countless talents, many of...

Setbacks LDCs are up against in global trade

For more than a decade, the global community has been working towards the goal of doubling the share of global exports from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to two per cent by 2020, up from one per cent a decade...

Ministry seeks Tk 330b to upgrade primary schools

The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME) has sought nearly Tk 330 billion in government funding, entirely from domestic sources, to implement six major development projects aimed at improving infrastructure and learning environments in primary schools across Bangladesh over...

BD may be among worst sufferers of heat stress

Bangladesh may become one of the worst sufferers of heat stress, as Dhaka's temperature has risen by nearly 6°C over the last decade, far exceeding the global threshold of 1.5°C, experts warned.The economic losses due to heat is projected to...

Resetting Dhaka's overhead electric cables underground stalls

Shifting Dhaka's dangerously dangling overhead power-distribution-network cables underground remains stalled as two Japanese-funded projects worth around Tk 19.01 billion face rollback after prolonged dithering, sources say. The projects were initiated under Power Division of the government nearly eight years ago...

DMTCL looks for new financier for Diabari-Tongi section

The Dhaka Metro Rail Company is seeking a new financier for developing another extension of the under-operation metro rail from Diabari to Tongi although Japan has already supported development of the existing 21.7-km corridor.According to sources, the Dhaka Mass Transit...